Whether it Passes or Not, Employee Free Choice Act Can Present Significant Challenges to Health Care Employers

Experts in talent communications and labor law host free Webinar to assist health care HR professionals.

New York, NY (PRWEB) April 22, 2009

Bernard Hodes Group, a leading provider of integrated talent solutions, and Ford & Harrison LLP, a national labor and employment law firm, will conduct a webinar to raise awareness on how health care organizations can best prepare for current and future efforts of union organizing. The session will include a discussion of the current state of the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA). The webinar, featured on leading industry site hr.com, will take place on Thursday, April 23rd at 3 pm EST. Participation is free and registration can be completed at: http://emarketing.hodes.com/redirects/efca_0409.asp.

The EFCA legislation would make it easier for employees to form, join or assist labor organizations. Should the EFCA legislation pass in Congress, the President has indicated that he will sign it into law and many industries will face a greater possibility of unionization. The health care, hospitality, and retail industries will be major targets of organizing efforts ---because they represent jobs that cannot be relocated to other states or sent off-shore.

“Employers in these industries have to recognize that now is the time to truly and objectively assess the state of their employee relations. They should determine whether or not they can improve those relationships before EFCA is passed,” said Paul Austermuehle, senior vice president, employer branding, Bernard Hodes Group and one of the webinar presenters. “Companies and organizations need to take their employees’ concerns seriously and make the necessary adjustments to improve their competitiveness for talent. In light of this legislation, it makes sense to maximize your relations with employees; starting with rigorous dialogue.”

“It would be a serious mistake in my judgment to assume that the EFCA will not pass in some form. If it does pass, this would represent a monumental change in how unions organize employers and how employers prepare for a union organizing campaign,” said Chad Lang, a Ford & Harrison partner and one of the webinar presenters. “Most likely, employers will no longer have the time necessary after a union election petition is filed to conduct its own campaign, which is why an employer’s campaign must start today. Even if the EFCA were never to pass, with the recent mergers of two of the largest health care industry-focused unions in the country, and the two separate mergers of several state nursing associations, union organizing campaigns in the health care industry will increase exponentially going forward.”

This webinar will focus on the implications of EFCA to health care organizations, and will help executives in the health care industry understand the legislation as well as assess how they can prepare their organizations, managers and supervisors, even if the EFCA were never to pass.

About Bernard Hodes Group
Bernard Hodes Group is a leading fully integrated talent solutions provider, Bernard Hodes Group (http://www.hodes.com) offers solutions that often combine multiple service offerings from the Company's core competency areas: Recruitment Marketing; Sourcing/Response Management; Hiring Process Re-engineering; and Staffing Technology (see http://www.hodesiQ.com). All solutions are developed and measured within the company's 360-degree process methodology. The company’s Health care Division (http://www.hodes.com/industries/healthcare/index.asp ) is staffed by RNs with clinical, managerial and recruiting experience. In addition, Bernard Hodes Group has health care strategists in many of its offices nationwide. The company is headquartered in New York, with over 80 offices and affiliates around the globe. Bernard Hodes Group is a part of Omnicom Group, Inc., (NYSE - OMC) (http://www.omnicomgroup.com). Omnicom is a leading global
advertising, marketing and corporate communications company. Omnicom's branded networks and numerous specialty firms provide advertising, strategic media planning and buying, interactive, direct and promotional marketing, public relations and other specialty communications services to over 5,000 clients in more than 100 countries. Bernard Hodes Group serves thousands of clients in virtually every industry, helping them to attract and retain talented workers in every skill set.

About Ford & Harrison LLP
Ford & Harrison is a national labor and employment law firm with 200 lawyers in 18 offices: Atlanta, Asheville (NC), Birmingham, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Jacksonville, Los Angeles, Melbourne (FL), Miami, Memphis, Minneapolis, New York, Orlando, Phoenix, Spartanburg (SC), Tampa and Washington, D.C. The firm represents employers in labor, employment, immigration and employee benefits matters, including litigation, in issues involving national and international jurisdictions. Ford & Harrison's Healthcare Group, made up of lawyers located throughout the United States, has extensive experience with the full range of labor and employment issues unique to healthcare and is familiar with the challenges facing the industry and understands provider operational issues. The firm assists hospitals, long-term care and assisted living providers, physician groups and allied health companies in labor and employment matters that
might otherwise distract them from their primary purpose of providing excellent service to their patients and customers. For more information on Ford & Harrison and our Healthcare Group, please visit http://www.fordharrison.com.

This press release was distributed through eMediawire by Human Resources Marketer (HR Marketer: http://www.HRmarketer.com) on behalf of the company listed above.

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